"Stop Crying Brazil"

                Stop crying Brazil! I know your beloved National soccer team lost in the semi-finals of the World Cup to Germany by 7-1. I know you are the host country of this World Cup match and that Brazil has always been an international powerhouse in soccer for decades but a big fat: So What! Teams lose, that is why the game is played on the field or court. Otherwise we would just put all the stats in a computer and have it declare a winner.

                What gets me about all this is the after game Brazilian melo-drama. The Brazilian reaction was so over the top. Here are a few comments from randomly selected Brazilian people about the loss, as reported in the NY Times:

“…Brazil lacked concentration, it lacked commitment, but above all the things it lacked talent”.

“I kind of cried, I cried without tears” (Francisco Pareira de Godol age 5)

“Some people said they were sorry for the players, but not me. They didn’t show love for the game, I think it was a total *unbalance”. (*Not a typo)

“Brazil did not have a team. It was way too bad. It did not have a midfield, it didn’t have strikers. We should have been *disqualified during the first round, against Chile”. (*Note: you can’t disqualify a team just because you don’t like them)

“The Way they hurt the hearts of the Brazilian people. My head hurts. It’s too much suffering”. (Adilson Mourao aged 47)

“It was a disaster. Like we were dizzy. A tractor ran over us”.

                Before the game, Brazilians loved their team. The stadium where the game was played was packed, there were outdoor screens and countless thousands watching on the beaches and in stadiums all across the country. Those places had “carnivale”-like atmospheres. Why? Because Brazil had lost only one match at home out of the last 20+ games. Brazilians expected to beat Germany and were celebrating even before the game. We all know what over confidence can do. Teams often get careless and make mistakes. Brazil did!

                Disappointment that your team lost? Of course. Shock that they lost? Yes. But get over it Brazil. All teams lose, favorites lose, and let’s not forget Germany is a great team. They are likely going to win the World Cup. You weren’t playing the Sisters of Mercy you know! Germany is referred to as the Machine because of their precision passes and speed. Just the kind of team that if you relax or lose concentration they will carve you up which is exactly what happened.

                 

Here is what Brazilians should be upset about:

A)     50% of the population lack the resources for basic survival

B)      Schools have inadequate infrastructure, lack of teachers, they are located in dangerous neighborhoods, and nonattendance in schools is rampant. 20% of the population can’t read at all.

C)      Police brutality is commonplace and crime is everywhere. When people have no education for decent jobs, and are poor they look for illegal ways to make a living.

D)     Hospitals are old and crumbling, there is a shortage of medicines in every city, doctors are in short supply and at best care is minimal.

It’s true that the bigger cities have had an economic upturn in recent years which has led to job openings at livable wages but there are almost no qualified applicants. Brazil, you are still a third rate country. I’m sorry, I get the fun of Rio, the Carnivale and the beaches. I do but unless a person is in the upper 15% of the economy, life in Brazil is brutal.

                My point is this: Brazil you have so many things to be upset about that need fixing and your soccer team isn’t one of them. Your priorities are bass-ackwards. The soccer team is and will be fine and maybe a good old fashioned ass whipping is what they needed to pull them out of their overconfident lethargy. You need to be crying over your (what could be great country but is still a) third rate country and do something about that. Look to the United States for inspiration here.

                Germany defeated the United States 2-1 in the World Cup and little old Belgium knocked America out in the quarter finals. Groans were heard in every bar and home for about 7 minutes. Then it was time to get back to the real business of living our lives. We have perspective here not hysteria. The most common thing overheard when America was knocked out was: well, when does football season start?